Paid in Cocaine
Paid in Cocaine is the eighth song on the album Goths. Lyrics Crusty boots in the corner of the closet by the tackle box Once-proud shining silver buckles safe behind the normalcy locks Baubles and bangles A lost age Still all aglow with the radiance of the stage That's who I was This is who I am Work to pay down the interest on the mortgage Used to get paid by the gram Long Beach Long Beach, can you hear me? Can you hear me, Long Beach? Long Beach Long Beach, can you hear me? Can you hear me, Long Beach? Master tape from the show we did at Fender's back in '85 Dark paisley from Retail Slut All four of us still fresh and alive Flashes and phosphenes It's hard to believe that's me Strapped in, visibly sweating As happy as I'm ever gonna be You're by my side Five years left on your card You're cashing out, all dressed up For your date with the emergency ward Long Beach Long Beach, can you hear me? Can you hear me, Long Beach? Long Beach Long Beach, can you hear me? Can you hear me, Long Beach? Comments by John Darnielle About this Song *"I'm going to play a song about, um - about a club I used to go to in Southern California. I saw Celtic Frost there.... I saw Megadeth there, I saw Kreator there, I think I got freaked out during the Kreator set because they started chanting 'Hang the Pope' and circle-pitting and I was a regular attender of the Catholic church at that time, kind of freaked me out.... Anyway, this club was called Fender's International Ballroom.... So apparently at Fender's, the deal at Fender's was, if you were a touring band - I want you to imagine briefly that you've come all the way from Switzerland. You're Celtic Frost, you're making music that's extraordinarily new and innovative. Nobody's making anything that sounds like it. You're in a realm of your own, and you know it, you can hear it. Every night you're playing this music that no one has ever heard before. It's a revolutionary time, right. And you have contracted with all these clubs to pay you five hundred dollars every night, which is not a lot of money, but it will do, it will get all of you a place to sleep for the night and pay for the gas to get to the next spot. You're in Long Beach tonight, tomorrow is probably San Francisco, right. And, uh, and so you play your show at Fender's in Long Beach. I'm there, I'm nineteen years old, right. You, in the band, go backstage to ask for your money and the promoter's liaison says - 'Oh, yeah, the money, it's not, it's not really here.' And he extends for you an eight-ball. Now this is Southern California in 1986, so it's high-quality pink-flake Bolivian cocaine. However, it's still not money. You can't put it in the gas tank. You can either take that or you can go home hungry. That's the rumor about how things worked at Fender's Ballroom. This is called 'Paid in Cocaine.'" -- 2017-06-02 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA Things Referenced in this Song * Fender's Ballroom was a music club in Long Beach, closed in 1989. * Retail Slut was a clothing store located on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, specializing in goth and punk clothing. It was open from 1983 to 2005. Live Shows this Song Was Played at *2017-04-12 - The Corner Hotel - Melbourne, Australia *2017-05-19 - Facebook Live Stream - Durham, NC *2017-05-26 - The Republic - New Orleans, LA *2017-05-27 - White Oak Music Hall - Houston, TX *2017-05-31 - The Mayan - Los Angeles, CA *2017-06-02 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA *2017-06-05 - The Showbox - Seattle, WA *2017-09-11 - Sheldon Concert Hall - St. Louis, MO *2017-09-13 - Englert Theatre - Iowa City, IA *2017-10-08 - Button Factory - Dublin, Ireland *2017-11-06 - 9:30 Club - Washington, D.C. *2017-11-08 - Calvin Theatre - Northampton, MA *2017-11-10 - White Eagle Hall - Jersey City, NJ *2017-11-12 - Brooklyn Steel - Brooklyn, NY *2017-11-13 - House of Blues - Boston, MA *2017-11-15 - Newport Music Hall - Columbus, OH *2017-11-16 - Majestic Theatre - Detroit, MI *2017-11-18 - First Avenue - Minneapolis, MN Videos of this Song *2017-05-19 - Facebook Live Stream - Durham, NC Category:Goths songs Category:Video